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posted by mrpg on Wednesday October 11 2017, @02:22AM   Printer-friendly
from the bugged dept.

A homeowner in Longboat Key, Florida has been accused of secretly recording Airbnb guests with a camera hidden in a smoke alarm:

A tiny black dot on the Longboat Key bedroom smoke detector was enough to alert an Indiana couple that something was wrong. Sure enough, when the couple got a closer look, what appeared to be a smoke detector was actually a camera pointing directly at the bed, according to ABC Action News.

Derek Starnes, in a call to ABC Action News, said he and his wife were "freaked out" by the incident. Starnes explained he saw a black hole on the smoke detector and took it down. That's when he found a camera recording onto an SD card and called the police. [...] "We seized a lot of computer storage data devices, hard drives, computers, laptops SD cards anything that would store data," Lt. Bob Bourque told ABC Action News. "We don't know if there are local victims someone who may have been dating him or a companion that doesn't realize they are being videotaped, and then we have the other side of who he rented to through Airbnb."

[...] [The homeowner Wayne] Natt told police in a statement that it was for sex parties he hosted at the home, ABC Action News reported. Natt told police the cameras were for his personal use and not on when guests are in the home, but police told WFLA the cameras can be operated remotely. Police also found several videos, including one of the Indiana couple. "He says that everyone videoed had knowledge he was videoing them," Bourque told ABC Action News. What we said to that was... if people are consenting to recording sexual activity why is it hidden in a smoke alarm? He said it was for recording sexual activity."

Bourque told reporters Natt's Airbnb account has been active for two years.

Also at Ars Technica, WFLA, and ABC Action News with a 2:13 autoplaying safe for work video.


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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday October 11 2017, @02:31AM (2 children)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @02:31AM (#580241) Homepage Journal

    President Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower. Put a tapp on my phones during the very sacred election process. So everyone thinks it's OK. I'll tell you, it's not OK. That's not OK. 🇺🇸

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @03:14AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @03:14AM (#580258)

      What about when they recorded you in Moscow with hookers, pissing on Obama's bed?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:07AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:07AM (#580283)

        The real problem is that Obama had a bed in Moscow. Pissing on it destroys the Russian government's microphones.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:18AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:18AM (#580288)

    autoplaying safe for work video

    Is there an NSFW version ... I want to make sure this isn't fake news.

    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:48AM (2 children)

      by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:48AM (#580291) Journal

      If this has been recording for several years. There are likely to be many NSFW videos.
      The police are watching them over and over to check if they can identify anyone, or at least get some stress relief.

      --
      "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
      • (Score: 1) by DECbot on Wednesday October 11 2017, @05:45AM (1 child)

        by DECbot (832) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @05:45AM (#580305) Journal

        The police department in Longboat Key, FL may want to start a carpal tunnel awareness program in the near future. Since they're on the clock, are they entitled to worker's comp in the event they blow out their wrist during this intense investigation?

        --
        cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @09:06AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @09:06AM (#580355)

          Police union says hell yes

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by MrGuy on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:48AM

    by MrGuy (1007) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @11:48AM (#580401)

    The main result of this story will likely be getting a bunch of other pervs who rent on AirBNB to think "I should get into that!"

  • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:02PM (3 children)

    by richtopia (3160) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:02PM (#580533) Homepage Journal

    AirBnB requires hosts to disclose cameras. However I don't know what the ramifications of this hidden camera are: so you broke the terms of service of a company, do they sue you now? Do you just get kicked out of AirBnB?

    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:24PM

      by Freeman (732) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @04:24PM (#580550) Journal

      The host was arrested. So, not just kicked out of AirBnB.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday October 11 2017, @05:54PM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday October 11 2017, @05:54PM (#580628) Journal

      The video version of the story was all like "people are asking what Airbnb is going to do to stop this going forward". It's a private residence. This is going to keep on happening again and again. Maybe the pervs will hide the camera better so that you have to disassemble the smoke detector in order to see it. The requirement can't be enforced. For every 1 perv caught, 50 got away with it and are watching you fuck on an endless loop forever.

      The guy was banned from Airbnb forever.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @08:06PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 11 2017, @08:06PM (#580758)

      AirBnB requires hosts to disclose cameras.

      Can it require renters to read all those disclosures? Or do people just click through? Airbnb recently had 28,883 words in its terms of service. [archive.org] I don't see the word "camera" in there. Do you?

  • (Score: 1) by AssCork on Wednesday October 11 2017, @06:03PM (1 child)

    by AssCork (6255) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @06:03PM (#580640) Journal

    The trick is to make a sign that says "I know you're watching" in large print, walk through each room, and hold the sign for a few seconds at everything in the room.
    ProTIP: The worse your birthday-suit looks, the fewer people will watch.

    --
    Just popped-out of a tight spot. Came out mostly clean, too.
    • (Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Wednesday October 11 2017, @06:34PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday October 11 2017, @06:34PM (#580669)

      If the goal is to prevent the camera from recording people having sex, I can rent you my wife.

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